201: Burning skin and refining bones

By the time he returned to the small courtyard in Yuqian Lane, twilight had already descended.

Chen Linsheng briefly informed Su Wan of his experiences at the Army Breaker Manor branch, omitting the chilling pressure within the Thunder Hall and only mentioning the details of the assessment task and the three-month deadline.

Su Wan listened quietly, poured him a cup of hot tea, and said softly, "Three months... time is tight. You must first stabilize yourself before planning the bandit suppression."

Under the candlelight, her eyes were clear and firm. "I'll handle everything at home, so don't worry. Just focus on your cultivation."

Chen Linsheng squeezed her hand; the warmth from her palm brought peace to his heart.

That night, Chen Linsheng set up a Quiet Room in the east wing of the courtyard and began his secluded meditation.

The Quiet Room was small, containing only a bed and a table, with windows covered by thick cloth to block out external light and sound. He placed several fire source crystals from the Secret Realm around him and used his own Qi and blood to sketch a simple Essence Gathering Array—though crude, it could slightly draw in the scattered Fire Element Origin Qi from the environment, creating a more suitable setting for cultivating the "Great Sun Burning Heaven Physique."

Sitting cross-legged on the bed, Chen Linsheng closed his eyes and concentrated, sinking his consciousness into his body.

The vortexes of his five viscera rotated slowly, the Five Elements cycling endlessly. Within his Dantian, the "Hunyuan Qi and Blood"—which had become increasingly powerful and condensed after being tempered in the Secret Realm and used to slay the White Lotus Cultists—resembled a sleeping river, calm and profound.

At the very core of the Heart Fire Qi Vortex, a speck of blazing white starlight floated quietly.

It was the Origin Seed of the "Great Sun True Flame." Although weak like a candle in the wind, it radiated a magnificent aura of extreme Yang and righteousness, capable of incinerating the heavens. It nourished the Heart Fire Origin Qi while remaining subtly independent, not yet truly integrated into Chen Linsheng's Qi and blood system.

"Using Hunyuan Qi and Blood as the Foundation, guide the True Flame Seed to temper the entire body..."

Chen Linsheng silently recited the opening principles of the "Great Sun Burning Heaven Physique" and began his first attempt to actively guide that strand of True Flame Seed.

His consciousness, like the finest of tentacles, cautiously reached toward that speck of blazing white starlight.

The moment of contact—

"Boom!"

It was as if a spark had fallen into a sea of oil!

The blazing white starlight suddenly brightened, and an indescribable torrent of heat exploded from his heart orifice, surging through his Meridians! Wherever it passed, his Meridians felt as if they were being seared by a branding iron, sending waves of tearing pain!

Chen Linsheng let out a muffled groan, and fine beads of cold sweat instantly broke out on his forehead.

The essence of the True Flame Seed was simply too high-level!

Even a negligible wisp contained a level of extreme Yang intensity that far exceeded the physical limits of his current Jiaojin Realm Perfection. Had he not laid a solid Foundation with the "Five Viscera Absorbing Essence Art" and strengthened his essence with the "Hunyuan True Body," this single backlash would have been enough to severely damage his Meridians.

"I can't force it... I must use Hunyuan Qi and Blood to envelop and assimilate it, proceeding slowly."

Chen Linsheng immediately changed his strategy.

No longer attempting to drive the True Flame Seed directly, he slowly drew up the warm and mellow Hunyuan Qi and Blood from his Dantian, like a gentle tide, to envelop both the Heart Fire Qi Vortex and the True Flame spark within it.

Hunyuan Qi and Blood was a new power that had evolved from the "Five Viscera Absorbing Essence Art" after being tempered in the Secret Realm and baptized by the Legacy. Its characteristics were "inclusivity," "harmony," and "oneness," capable of containing the Five Elements and merging ten thousand forces.

Now, under Chen Linsheng's exquisite control, the Hunyuan Qi and Blood acted like an invisible membrane, gently enveloping and soaking the True Flame spark.

Initially, the True Flame spark instinctively resisted and burned, constantly evaporating and melting the Hunyuan Qi membrane. But Chen Linsheng remained calm, continuously mobilizing his Qi and blood to replenish it, maintaining the envelopment.

This was a painstaking process of slow attrition.

One day, two days, three days... In the Quiet Room, Chen Linsheng was like a clay statue, with only his aura fluctuating.

At times, he was as hot as a furnace, his skin turning crimson; at other times, he returned to a warm state, with a faint golden luster flowing over him.

Every day, Su Wan placed meals and fresh water outside the Quiet Room door without making a sound. Only late at night would she stand outside for a moment, leaving only after sensing his stable and gradually strengthening aura.

By the seventh day.

Within his heart orifice, that speck of True Flame spark finally stopped resisting.

Under the day-and-night nourishment and envelopment of the Hunyuan Qi and Blood, it seemed to "recognize" this gentle contact. The edges of the blazing white flame began to take on a hint of pale golden Hunyuan aura.

Chen Linsheng knew the time had come.

With a thought, he used the Hunyuan Qi and Blood as a guide, leading that wisp of True Flame power—now merged with the Hunyuan aura—slowly out of his heart orifice and along the specific meridian paths recorded in the opening of the "Great Sun Burning Heaven Physique."

"Sizzle..."

Wherever the True Flame power flowed, a slight stinging pain came from his Meridians, but it was no longer the unbearable tearing from before. The Hunyuan aura acted as the perfect buffer and harmonizer, transforming the True Flame's violent intensity into a gentle yet persistent tempering force.

The first meridian, the second, the third... The True Flame power was like the finest carving knife, leaving faint blazing white patterns on the inner walls of Chen Linsheng's Meridians. These patterns were not injuries but a deeper kind of branding, making the Meridians tougher and significantly increasing his affinity for and capacity to carry Fire Element Origin Qi.

Simultaneously, the True Flame power seeped through the meridian walls, slowly soaking into the surrounding muscles, bones, and skin.

The first layer of the "Great Sun Burning Heaven Physique"—"Burning Skin and Tempering Bone"—had officially begun!

"Ugh..."

Chen Linsheng gritted his teeth, his muscles tightening involuntarily.

It was an all-encompassing burning sensation from the inside out. It felt as if countless tiny flames were burning in every cell, incinerating Impurities and reshaping his structure.

Beneath his skin, the pale golden Qi membrane of the "Golden Garment Skill" manifested on its own, meeting the True Flame power that was seeping in.

A wondrous change occurred.

The "Golden Garment Skill" was originally a technique focused on defense and tempering the body's surface, its core lying in using Qi and blood to condense a Qi membrane to strengthen the skin and flesh. In contrast, "Burning Skin and Tempering Bone" from the "Great Sun Burning Heaven Physique" used True Flame power to completely transform the essence of the skin and bones at the most minute level.

Both shared the same Origin, but their levels were worlds apart.

Under the wash of the True Flame power, that pale golden Qi membrane melted like snow, being rapidly decomposed and absorbed.

It didn't disappear; rather, its essence was refined and fused by the True Flame power, turning into purer energy that fed back into Chen Linsheng's skin.

It was a natural progression!

The final barrier of the "Golden Garment Skill" was quietly broken through under the influence of this higher-level power.

On Chen Linsheng's body, the pale golden luster grew brighter, gradually transforming into a deeper, more restrained dark gold. On the surface of his skin, extremely fine natural patterns, like those of cast metal, faintly emerged. It looked soft, but its toughness far exceeded what it had been before.

"Golden Garment Skill"—Perfection!

And all this was just the beginning.

The moment the "Golden Garment Skill" reached Perfection, its circulation route naturally shifted, seamlessly connecting to the more profound cultivation methods of the first layer of the "Great Sun Burning Heaven Physique," "Burning Skin and Tempering Bone."

The circulation of the True Flame power suddenly accelerated!

"Boom—!"

Inside Chen Linsheng's body, it felt as if ten thousand furnaces had been lit simultaneously!

As his blood surged, it took on a hint of blazing white; his bones emitted a faint hum under the searing heat, and his skin continuously contracted, tightened, and transformed under the tempering... Pain swept through every inch of his nerves like a tide.

Yet amidst this extreme pain, Chen Linsheng's mind remained exceptionally clear.

Deep within his Sea of Consciousness, that long-dormant spirit book unfurled slowly, though there was no wind.

On a new page, light flickered, and words automatically appeared:

[Great Sun Burning Heaven Physique · First Layer · Burning Skin and Tempering Bone: Initial Mastery]

[Fusion Progress: Hunyuan Qi and Blood as the Foundation, True Flame Seed as the guide, Golden Garment Skill essence absorbed... Deducing and optimizing...]

The spirit book was not just recording; it began to actively deduce and optimize!

All the various Martial Skills Chen Linsheng had learned in the past—"Hunyuan Palm," "Mountain Suppressing Seal," "Python Dragon Strength," "Crane Ape Illusory Wind Steps"—and even the Qi Circulation routes of the "Five Viscera Absorbing Essence Art," flowed, decomposed, and reorganized on the pages in a mysterious way.

Especially "Mountain Suppressing Seal" and "Python Dragon Strength," the two offensive techniques he used most and understood most deeply, began to manifest new prototypes under the deduction that integrated the characteristics of the "Great Sun True Flame":

"Blazing Sun Hunyuan Palm"—Taking the inclusivity and heaviness of the Hunyuan Palm and merging it with the blazing ferocity of the True Flame. A palm strike is like the Great Sun patrolling the heavens, capable of burning mountains and boiling seas, while also possessing the suppression and erosion wonders of the Primordial Chaos One Qi.

"Mountain Burning Sea Suppressing Seal"—Inheriting the majestic momentum of the Mountain Suppressing Seal and combining it with the incinerating properties of the True Flame. The seal falls like a collapsing mountain, containing internal True Flame that burns tendons and erodes bones, suppressing the enemy's Qi and blood while destroying their Divine Soul.

Although they were only prototype deductions, they already faintly displayed potential and power far exceeding the originals.

In a moment of inspiration, Chen Linsheng endured the continuous tempering pain of "Burning Skin and Tempering Bone" while setting aside a portion of his mind to immerse himself in the spirit book's deductions.

His past cultivation insights, combat experience, and bits of understanding of the "Great Sun Burning Heaven Physique" scriptures collided and merged under the spirit book's guidance, sparking countless flashes of wisdom.

Time passed quietly amidst pain and enlightenment.

The fifteenth day of seclusion.

In the Quiet Room, the dark golden skin all over Chen Linsheng's body had completely stabilized, with a faint red halo circulating within. The soft humming of his bones grew clearer, sounding like the clashing of gold and jade.

His aura settled firmly at the Peak of the Jiaojin Realm, Initial Stage.

It seemed his Realm hadn't changed, but only he knew that his current strength was worlds apart from before his seclusion.

His skin was tough, hard to wound with ordinary swords or sabers, and it carried a hint of True Flame counter-burning power; any sinister or evil Qi would be incinerated upon contact.

His bones were dense and could bear more force, and the speed of his Qi and blood circulation had nearly doubled.

The total amount of Hunyuan Qi and Blood hadn't increased significantly, but its condensation, purity, and the hint of "Great Sun True Flame" characteristic within it had caused its quality to make a qualitative leap. Every move he made carried a magnificent aura of heat and evil-breaking.

Not to mention, the prototypes of the "Blazing Sun Hunyuan Palm" and "Mountain Burning Sea Suppressing Seal" deduced by the spirit book, though not yet fully mastered, had already pointed the way for his next steps in Martial Skill Fusion and enhancement.

Chen Linsheng slowly opened his eyes.

Deep in his eyes, a flash of blazing white light vanished in an instant, quickly returning to a profound calm.

He exhaled a long breath of turbid Qi; the breath was so hot that it actually warped the air in front of him.

After half a month of seclusion, the initial Fusion of the "Great Sun Burning Heaven Physique" introductory chapter with his own Hunyuan system was finally complete.

His cultivation was stable at the Peak of the Jiaojin Realm, Initial Stage, his Physical Body was strengthened in all aspects, and he had mastered the method of True Flame Body Tempering. His future path of cultivation had suddenly become clear.

But this was only the first step of the buffer period.

Chen Linsheng stood up and stretched his limbs; a series of popping sounds like crackling beans echoed from his body, which was now filled with a sense of power.

Pushing open the door of the Quiet Room, the afternoon sunlight spilled in, a bit dazzling.

In the courtyard, Su Wan was sitting under the grape trellis sorting medicinal herbs. Hearing the movement, she looked up and saw him emerging safely from seclusion, a smile spreading in her eyes.

“Did you succeed?”

“Yes, the initial Fusion. It still needs to be polished through actual combat, but the Foundation is solid.” Chen Linsheng walked to her side, feeling the peaceful atmosphere of the courtyard, and the string in his heart that had been taut from cultivation relaxed slightly.

Su Wan handed him a cup of warm tea. “Next, it's time to deal with the ‘Sand Shadow Bandits’ matter.”

The tranquility of the Yuqian Lane courtyard was broken by a steady, measured knocking at the door.

Chen Linsheng and Su Wan exchanged a look. At this time, ordinary neighbors wouldn't come calling. With a thought, Chen Linsheng's prototype "Tracking" Divine Ability quietly unfolded—there was only one aura outside the door, steady but with a hint of urgency, with long breaths. It was a Martial Artist, roughly at the Late-stage Flesh Tempering Realm, with masculine Qi and blood, showing no ill intent or concealment.

“I'll get the door.” Chen Linsheng motioned for Su Wan to stay calm and walked toward the gate.

When the door opened, a young man in dark blue brocade martial attire stood outside. He was about twenty-three or twenty-four years old, with a tall build, handsome features, sharp eyebrows, and bright eyes. A luxurious longsword hung at his waist. He was the eldest grandson of the Lei Family of Jiuqu Prefecture, Lei Hao, who had met Chen Linsheng several times at the Yangwei Martial Arts Hall.

“Brother Chen, sorry to disturb you.” Lei Hao saw Chen Linsheng and gave a hearty smile, cupping his hands in greeting. His gaze focused slightly on Chen Linsheng, a flash of surprise crossing his face—it had only been half a month, yet this peer who had returned from the Secret Realm now had an even more condensed and heavy aura. Despite appearing to be at the Jiaojin Realm, Initial Stage, he faintly gave off a pressure as if one were facing a mountain.

“Brother Lei? A rare guest, please come in.” Chen Linsheng stepped aside to let him in, his mind racing. The Lei Family was one of the prominent martial arts families in Jiuqu Prefecture, with members serving in the prefecture government and the Army Breaker Manor, making them well-informed. Lei Hao's visit now was likely not just for a casual chat.

Su Wan had already stood up and gave Lei Hao a slight nod before turning to the kitchen to brew tea. Lei Hao quickly bowed his hands. “Greetings, sister-in-law. Please forgive my sudden visit.”

The three of them sat down at the stone table under the grape trellis. The autumn afternoon sunlight filtered through the sparse leaves, casting mottled shadows.

Lei Hao took the tea cup from Su Wan, thanked her, and didn't beat around the bush, getting straight to the point. "Brother Chen, I came today for two reasons. First, I heard you returned from the Army Breaker Manor with an assessment task and wanted to check in; second, there's some new news in the prefecture city that might be useful to you."

Chen Linsheng understood and remained calm. "Please, Brother Lei."

Lei Hao took a sip of tea, set the cup down, and became serious. "First, regarding those few in the Secret Realm. After Yan Chen returned to the Blazing Sun Martial Arts Hall in the prefecture city, he immediately announced he was entering death seclusion. It's said he wants to completely digest his gains from the Secret Realm and break through to a higher Realm. Even the old hall master, who has been in seclusion for many years, personally came out to check on him. The martial arts hall's resources are being poured into him to an unprecedented degree. They've even put out word that once Yan Chen emerges, they'll hold a 'Graduation Ceremony' for him and invite fellow Martial Artists from the Northern Border to witness it."

Chen Linsheng nodded slightly. Yan Chen possessed the Golden Crow Bloodline and had a fierce, stubborn personality. After his defeat in the Secret Realm, he certainly wouldn't take it lying down. His strength would likely increase significantly after this seclusion.